Preview: Sligo Rovers vs Cobh Ramblers

The Showgrounds on Saturday night is the venue for Sligo Rovers versus Cobh Ramblers. Both sides come into the game on the back of scoreless draws. Cobh held local rivals Cork at St Colemans last Saturday while twenty four hours earlier at Belfield neither Sligo or UCD were able to get off the mark.

Sligo didn't have the easiest of starts to the new season. Away at Richmond Park in week one they took the lead, but then conceded three goals in a seven minute spell in the second half – with recent loan signing Pat Jennings responsible for at least one of the goals. The following week they held Drogheda to a no score draw, and then on Easter Friday Bohemians came to town and went away with full points thanks to a two one win.

Cobh and fellow top flight new boys Finn Harps did battle at Finn Park on March 7th. Cobh were a little bit unlucky to end up on the wrong side of a two one scoreline. A tie at United Park came next – Ramblers put up a good fight and had more chances than they probably expected, but in the end the current Premier Division champions ran out winners by three goals to nil.

Sligo manager Paul Cooke will be happy to have both Gavin Peers and Chris Butler available for selection again. They both picked up knocks against Kildrum Tigers in the league cup and subsequently missed out on the game at Belfield. Captain Peers would look to be a certain starter in the heart of defence, however whether Butler starts or not may well depend on if Danny Ventre will be needed for midfield duty. Recent signing Sean Doherty is a doubt with a knee problem and Fahrudin Kuduzovic is also a doubt. Should Kuduzovic not be passed fit then its likely that Romo Boco will start upfront alongside Matthew Judge.

Cobh look to have problems in defence. Right back Alan Carey has been ruled out – as has Ken Coleman. Shane Guthrie was expected to pull through and be available however the latest word from the club is that he too will be missing. Defender Declan Cawley has been called up and will be part of the squad. Striker Kieran OReilly, who looked so lively against Cork, is suspended.

Although they have just two points on the board to date, Sligo look a much improved side this season. Last year for the most part they were either winning or drawing games, they either played very well or were quite poor. They recorded few draws. There seems to be more consistency to them now and they are certainly a lot tighter at the back. In attack we havent yet seen the likes of Judge, Boco and Kuduzovic click, but there have been encouraging signs and its only a matter of time before they start causing defences real problems.

Even though they are many peoples favourite for relegation, Cobh have already shown that they are no pushovers. When all fit their back four are a tight compact unit. Kevin Murray and Shane Guthrie are centre backs that not many front men will give the run around. Alan Careys dead ball delivery make them a real threat. In Davin ONeill they have one of the leagues most promising young talents. He tends to be used on the left hand side of midfield but is equally capable up front. Striker Graham Cummins was excellent against Cork last week and was unlucky not to get on the score-sheet on a number of occasions.

Sligo go into the tie as the bookmakers clear favourites. Just like Cobh they have yet to taste victory this season. They tend to save their best performances for their home games and Paul Cook will no doubt be setting his side up to win the game. Cobh raised their game a level last week against Cork and were playing on a decent surface in front of a noisy, passionate sell out crowd. Its hard to see them being able to maintain that performance level for this regular league game that will be played on a terrible surface without a comparable atmosphere.

Kick off at The Showgrounds is 8pm

As usual Extratime.ie will bring you the starting line ups as soon as they are announced and also keep you up to date with all the goals and action